Program Information  Series 3 & 4Click on a program in the right-hand column to
see a description and program notes.

Song Duels?

Program Description

Marsh wrens have large song repertoires, often over 100 themes, and tend to
sing their way through their repertoire, one song after another, in a particular
order. The order seems to be a matter of local consensus.

Because all of the males in an area tend to sing the same songs in the same order,
one bird can generally anticipate the songs of another. This may be part of the
origin of what's called matched countersinging, where one marsh wren will sing a theme,
and another will immediately sing that same theme. The first bird sings a new theme,
and that, too, is immediately repeated by the second bird.

Why do they countersing? Is it a competition, a duel, to see who's the better singer,
presumably more attractive to female marsh wrens? Or is it maybe some less competitive
social ritual? Or something else entirely?

Duelling or not, it's an intriguing display of matched singing.

Program & Recording Notes

Chris Tenney recorded these marsh wrens near Salinas.
Joseph V. Brazie's recording of matched countersinging in marsh wrens can be found
on the CD accompanying the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Handbook of Bird Biology.
The snippet from "Duelling Banjos" is from the Deliverance soundtrack CD
featuring Eric Weissberg.